Gold inlaying

[chief]

Hi All,

I've been doing some light engraving on anodized AR style lowers, and am considering using the Brownell's gold inlay kit to fill the engraving, mostly text.

However, I'm concerned about being able to get the engraving filled without a smear of the gold getting into the anodized surface and making a mess.

Anyone have any experience or advice about doing this with something that is anodized?

Thanks
Terry

[hammermill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M-QHLtdpW8


this is a demo on foresters kit for inlay. much of it is a fine ground brass, true gold inlay requires a undercut to lock in the gold to the engraving as it is worked in place

not sure do some on a tool handels,etc. kits are not very expensive from what I see. what you seem to be making is a high metal based paint.,.

[chief]

Thanks very much for the video link Hammermill, that process looks exactly like what the Brownell's kite says to do. I am just concerned that the excess doesn't wipe off from the lowers I'm working with. They don't have the hard finish the shotgun in the video has, and I worry that the gold mix will seep into the finish and not wipe off. I guess the only way to really find out is to try it and see!

Thanks again
Terry

[Harold_V]

I worry that the gold mix will seep into the finish and not wipe off. I guess the only way to really find out is to try it and see!

In theory, if the anodizing has been properly sealed, it shouldn't absorb anything. That, of course, also indicates that the gold material won't adhere to the engraving, either.

If you don't know, anodizing creates a myriad of tiny cells on the surface, which is why it can be dyed. If it does not get sealed after dying, the dye is free to leach out. Sealing is nothing more than subjecting the item to boiling water, which closes the cells, so they are no longer amenable to absorbing.

I recently refinished a JBL logo, after refinishing the cabinets for our Paragon speaker system. I'm trying to retain the original appearance of the set. I cleaned out the old somewhat damaged black filling (paint) using lacquer thinner, then spray coated the entire logo, which is a chromed brass piece, with a spike attached to the rear. The spike is driven in to a hole in the cabinet to attach the logo.

After spraying the surface and allowing the paint to set, I then placed a soft rag on a hard surface, stretching and clamping it such that it couldn't "bunch up", then I dripped a few drops of lacquer thinner on the rag. I then simply wiped the surface of the logo on the rag, which promptly removed the paint from the raised areas of the logo. The end result is a logo which appears to be new. Something similar will most likely work for you, too.

I fully expect that the paint (or filler) you use will have decent adhesion to the sealed anodizing, just as the paint I used has adhesion to the chromed logo I painted. Adequate for the purpose at hand.

Harold

[chief]

Hi Harold,

Thanks for weighing in on my question. Yes, I did know about the way the anodizing process creates the small cells to hold the dye, that was the main reason for my concern. I did not know that the sealing process was simply boiling water. I wonder if that could be done some time after anodizing.

The engraving was done by me, after the lowers were anodized, so it's bare aluminum that I want to fill.

What I am working on is "gun show" 80% lowers, and I have no idea if they were sealed at all, let alone properly. Since they are not assembled as of yet, it would be easy to boil them for a while if it would still help months after anodizing. If it would do any good, do you have a suggestion as to how long to hold one at boiling?

Thanks
Terry

[Harold_V]

Terry,
If the parts were anodized by anyone with the least understanding, you can pretty much be assured that they have been sealed. That's what could be considered as a mandatory part of the process.

While boiling water will seal the parts, there is a chemical reagent that is used to promote sealing. It's a nickel compound, nickel acetate, if memory serves. It is used by industry, but just boiling in water for 20 minutes should seal the parts, assuming they aren't, already.

I would suggest that you apply the gold as quickly as you can after you've done the engraving, however, as aluminum oxidizes rapidly, and aluminum oxide isn't known for its holding power for paint.

Harold

[hammermill]

my posts are turning elusive try the inlay paint on a hidden area like under the pistol grip as a test spot

[chief]

Both excellent suggestions, I'm going to give it a try tomorrow.

Terry

[chief]

I guess there will be a slight delay. LOL

The bottle of solvent (methylene cloride) in the kit is completely evaporated, so I have to get some more before I can try this. It's a pain to buy in small quantities, but I'm going to check the paint store and the auto supply places. It's used in paint stripper, but I'm not sure if it is available in pure form thru those suppliers.

Terry

[PeteH]

I don't know what happened to my last attempt to reply. Here goes again.

If you can tolerate a longer drying time, you can substitute trichlorethylene (a.k.a. trichloroethane) for methylene chloride (a.k.a. dichloromethane). It's got pretty near exactly the same solvent capability except that it's less aggressive, and evaporates much more slowly. You should be able to get it at some hardware stores.

Personally, I always found dichloromethane to dry TOO fast and to be too aggressive with things like plastic. Also it beats up on your skin, and is bad for your liver.

If, however, you need dichloromethane, here's a source:
http://www.reagents.com/catalog/details.asp?SKU=2-19590
And another:
http://www.cpostores.com/hvchemical/sea ... oromethane

"tech grade" should be just fine for what you want. I don't know if you'll get hit with a HazMat charge -- the stuff doesn't burn, but is pretty noxious to breathe.

Please note that you should use positive ventilation when working with these chlorinated solvents. They AIN'T good for you.

[chief]

Peter,

Thanks for the heads up on the trichlorethylene, I'm going to try to find that locally. Being slower is no problem for me. the methylene chloride definitely evaporates too fast! When I ordered the first kit from Brownell's, the bottle was totally empty when I received it, Brownell's was great, instead of replacing the bottle, they sent an entire new kit.

Thanks also for the links, if I have no luck here, I'll order from one of those folks.

Terry

[chief]

Well today I had a run at the job with so-so results. I managed to get some trichlorethylene as CRC electrical part cleaner from the auto parts store. I use it with the Brownell's "gold". I hadn't opened the container prior to this, but it looks for all the world like little dirty pieces of styrofoam! But adding the trichlorethylene turned it into a kind of gold colored liquid. I think I mixed it too thin, but when applied, it filled the engraving OK. The problem was trying to clean off the excess from the surface of the receiver, using just a clean cloth didn't remove the spill over, so I used the solvent to wipe up. I tried to not press hard enough to get into the engraving, but it didn't work well, I removed more than I intended, pretty much leaving the engraving bare metal. LOL

Tomorrow I plan to rig up some king of semi-soft block, maybe leather, and wrap it with cloth to try and wipe only the surface, and also mix the slurry a little thicker.

I definitely think the anodized finish wants to grab onto the gold solution, so cleaning it up is tricky.

Terry